How America is shaping the World Cup

Up First from NPR

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News, Daily News

4.6 • 59K Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

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Summary

The World Cup is back in North America for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the most popular sporting event on the globe and with 16 additional teams competing this year, it will be the biggest World Cup to date. But in Trump’s America, visa issues and geopolitical tensions are creating additional challenges for the teams and the fans.
Today on The Sunday Story, we bring two of NPR’s biggest soccer nerds onto the show to talk about the competition, the entertainment, and the cultural significance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday story from Up First.
0:07.3	In just a few days, billions of people from around the globe will tune in to the most watched sporting event there is, the FIFA World Cup.
0:16.6	This year, three nations will co-host the tournament, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.
0:22.8	And the field will be the biggest ever, expanding from 32 national teams to 48.
0:29.1	Today on the Sunday story, a primer on all things World Cup, from the favorites and the underdogs, to Shakira,
0:37.1	and to the global reach and unifying
0:39.5	power of soccer.
0:43.4	Stay with us.
0:49.0	We're back with the Sunday story.
0:51.7	So it's probably not much of an exaggeration to say the world's attention
0:56.5	is about to be on soccer or football, you know, depending on where you're from. That's because
1:03.5	the World Cup kicks off this week. And since I'm a soccer novice, to say the least, I'm getting
1:10.3	some help on this subject. I'm joined today byice, to say the least, I'm getting some help on this subject.
1:11.9	I'm joined today by NPR's sports correspondent Becky Sullivan and NPR's Jasmine Garst,
1:18.9	a diehard soccer fan and host of the podcast, The Last Cup.
1:23.4	They're both covering the World Cup for NPR this year.
1:26.9	Welcome to both of you.
1:28.6	Hey there, Aisha.
1:29.9	Hi.
1:31.0	So the World Cup tournament is being played in the U.S. for the first time in over 30 years.
1:37.6	I know a lot of people are really, really pumped about this.
1:41.7	And help me understand.
	...

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